1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of electrically separating adjacent thin-film semiconductor devices formed on a continuous substrate to enable testing and electrical curing of individual devices without breaking up the substrate. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of fabricating improved quality electrically isolated photovoltaic modules arrayed on a continuous substrate.
2. Descriction of the Related Art
As is well known in the art, mass production of thin-film photovoltaic modules or other thin-film semiconductor devices yields products of varying quality in a single production run. To ensure the satisfaction of buyers of such mass-produced products, quality control measures such as testing the end products and discarding modules of low quality have been instituted.
Ideally, each module produced should be tested to ensure that only those meeting certain performance requirements are sold to the public and only those failing to meet the requirements are discarded. Conventionally, the testing of photovoltaic modules is done on a one by-one basis, irrespective of whether the modules are produced individually or as a batch fabricated simultaneously in an array on a single substrate. In the latter case, the substrate first is broken up into individual modules before testing.
Such testing procedures are expensive and time consuming. For photovoltaic modules that are fabricated in an array on a single substrate, it would be more economical to test the modules before breaking up the substrate. Testing done at this stage would eliminate problems of handling such large numbers of small components and, if all of the modules on a single substrate were tested simultaneously (or sequentially at high speed with the aid of a computer), would provide great savings in labor and other production costs. The simultaneous testing of a plurality of modules arrayed on a single substrate requires, however, that the individual modules be electrically isolated from each other so that the current and voltage produced by each individual module can be detected. Such electrically isolated modules also could be electrically cured, that is, repaired by being subjected to a reverse-bias current, and retested before the substrate is broken up.
The present invention is intended to provide an improved method of electrically isolating adjacent photovoltaic modules arrayed on a single substrate to enable the simultaneous testing and curing of each of the modules on the substrate.
The present invention also is intended to provide an improved method of electrically isolating adjacent photovoltaic modules arrayed on a single substrate without damaging the substrate and without damaging the individual modules in the array.
Additional advantages of the present invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows and in part will be obvious from that description or can be learned by practice of the invention. The advantages of the invention can be realized and obtained by the method particularly pointed out in the appended claims.